Sustainable packaging box system and method for sustainable packaging

ABSTRACT

An improved single-piece shipping box system includes a lid with a lid flap forming a tab that fits into a slot on a front panel of a storage compartment, which facilitates repeatedly opening and closing without damaging the box for display before shipping. The tab and slot allow multiple users, such as the manufacturer, merchant, and e-commerce reseller, to conveniently open and close the box multiple times without damaging the box. The underside of the lid flap carries strips of covered adhesive used to seal the box closed for final shipping or in-person sale of the product. Protective film covers the adhesive strips until the user is ready to remove the protective film and tape the box closed in a permanent fixed manner for final shipping. The innovative arrangement provides a convenience of use and neatness in between pre-shipping uses with easy access and closing while simultaneously enabling secure shipping upon final designation determination.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to, and claims priority from, U.S. Prov. Ser.No. 63/353,971 filed Jun. 21, 2023, the entire contents of which areincorporated fully by reference.

FIGURE SELECTED FOR PUBLICATION

FIG. 3

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to folding boxes, optionallyconstructed from cardboard and, more particularly, to an improvedsingle-piece box including a lid flap forming a tab that fits into aslot through the front panel of the storage compartment to facilitaterepeatedly opening and closing without damaging the box.

BACKGROUND

Referring now to FIG. 1 , single-piece cardboard boxes have beendeveloped for storing, selling, and shipping various products includingshoes. A typical single-piece cardboard shoebox includes a folding lidwith a lid flap and folding end flaps. The end flaps tuck into sidepockets formed by the folded side panels of the storage compartment toclose the shoebox. This conventional arrangement leaves a sloppy anddifficult to re-close arrangement between uses before a final shipping.Additionally, the conventional end flaps are difficult to maneuver intoand out of the side slots, which slows product handling and inevitablyresults in damage and bending to some portion of the boxes prior tofinal sale to the end purchaser. This results in waste boxes or deliveryof new products in damaged boxes impairing the appearance of thepackaging and the impression on the customer. A need therefore existsfor an improved box that reduces the likelihood of damage prior to finalsale, a pleasing pre-sale closure, and the resulting loss of material.

Aspects and Objects of the Present Invention

The proposed invention addresses at least one of the concerns notedabove with an improved single-piece box system in which the lid flapforms a tab that removably fits into a slot through the front panel ofthe storage compartment of the box. The tab and slot allow multipleusers, such as the manufacturer, brick-and-mortar merchant ande-commerce reseller, to conveniently open and close the shoebox multipletimes without damaging the box. The underside of the lid flap carriesone or more strips of double-sided tape used to tape the box closed forfinal shipping or in-person sale of the product. Protective film coversthe tape strips until the user is ready to remove the protective film inorder to tape the shoebox closed. The innovative design eliminates theproblematic end flaps included on the lid flaps of conventionalone-piece cardboard shoeboxes, and the resulting loss of materialsthereby assisting sustainability.

According to one alternative aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a single-piece cardboard box, comprising: a storage compartmentcomprising a front panel, a lid connected to the storage compartmentcomprising a lid flap defining an underside and a tab, double-sided tapeattached to the underside of the lid flap, a slot through the frontpanel of the storage compartment for removably receiving the tab forrepeatedly closing the box without taping the box closed, thedouble-sided tape carrying a protective film allowing the tab to beremovably inserted into the slot without adhering the lid flap to thefront panel of the storage compartment, and wherein the protective filmis removable from the double-sided tape for taping the lid flap to thefront panel of the storage compartment to tape the box closed.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box, comprising a storagecompartment comprising a front panel, a lid connected to the storagecompartment, an adhesive carried on the box for adhering the box closed,a removable engagement for removably attaching the lid to the storagecompartment without utilizing the adhesive to adhere the box closed, aprotective film carried by the adhesive allowing the removableengagement to repeatedly secure the lid to the storage compartmentwithout utilizing the adhesive to adhering the box closed, and whereinthe protective film is removable from the adhesive for adhering the lidflap to storage compartment to secure the box closed.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box wherein the storage compartmentand lid are formed from a single piece of material foldable from a flatconfiguration to form the storage compartment and lid.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a storage box wherein the single piece of material iscardboard.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a storage box of wherein the adhesive comprises double-sidedtape.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box wherein the lid comprises a lidflap, the lid flap defines a tab, the adhesive comprises double-sidedtape carried on an underside of the tab, the storage compartmentcomprises a front panel, and the engagement comprises a slot through thefront panel for removably receiving the tab.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box wherein the lid comprises a lidflap, the storage compartment comprises a front panel, and theengagement comprises a slot through the front panel for removablyreceiving the lid flap.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box wherein the lid comprises a lidflap defining a tab, the storage compartment comprises a front panel,and the engagement comprises a slot through the front panel forremovably receiving the tab.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box wherein the lid comprises a lidflap, and the adhesive comprises double-sided tape carried on anunderside of the lid flap.

According to another alternative aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a single-piece cardboard box wherein the adhesive comprisesdouble-sided tape carried on a front panel of the storage compartment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The numerous advantages of the embodiments of the invention may bebetter understood with reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional single-piece cardboardshoebox.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating conceptual modification of theconventional single-piece cardboard shipping box to create an improvedsingle-piece shipping box.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the improved single-piece shipping boxwith its lid open.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the improved single-piece shipping boxwith its lid closed.

FIG. 5 is a top view of an unfolded blank for the improved single-pieceshipping box.

FIGS. 6A-6D are conceptual illustrations of alternative lid flaps withdifferently shaped tabs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The invention may be embodied in an improved single-piece shipping boxincluding a lid with a lid flap forming a tab that fits into a slotthrough the front panel of the storage compartment, which facilitatesrepeatedly opening and closing without damaging the shipping box. Thetab and slot allow multiple users, such as the manufacturer,brick-and-mortar merchant and e-commerce reseller, to conveniently openand close the shipping box multiple times without damaging the box. Theunderside of the lid flap carries strips of double-sided tape used totape the box closed for final shipping or in-person sale of the product.Protective film covers the tape strips until the user is ready to removethe protective film and tape the shipping box closed. The innovativedesign eliminates the problematic end flaps included on the lid flaps ofconventional one-piece cardboard shipping boxes.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional single-piece cardboardshoebox 10, which includes a folding lid 11 with a lid flap 12 includingend flaps 13 a and 13 b, which fit into side pockets 14 a and 14 bformed by the side panels of the storage compartment 15. To close theshoebox, the user flips the lid 11 over the storage compartment 15 andmaneuvers the end flaps 13 a and 13 b into their respective side pockets14 a and 14 b. Some people find the end flaps 13 a and 13 b difficultmaneuver into and out of their respective side pockets 14 a and 14 b,which slows product handling. With multiple people often opening andclosing the shoebox at various points in the fabrication, logistics,display, fitting and sale process, the problematic end flaps inevitablyresult in damage to some portion of the boxes prior to final shipment orin-person sale of the products. This results in waste boxes or deliveryof new products in slightly damaged shoeboxes impairing the appearanceof the packaging and the commercial impression on the end purchasers.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a new proposed shipping box20, which includes a lid 21 with a lid flap 22 illustrating thedifferences between the improved shoebox and the conventionalsingle-piece shoe box 10. In box 20, the fabricator removes the endflaps 23 a and 23 b along with corners 24 a and 24 b of the lid flap 12of the conventional shoebox 10 to create the modified lid flap 22 of theshipping box 20. The fabricator also cuts a slot 26 in the front panel27 of the storage compartment 28. These modifications form a tab 25 onthe lid flap 22, which can be conveniently inserted into and removedfrom the slot 26 to open and close Shipping box 20 multiple timeswithout damaging the lid flap. Unlike the conventional shoebox 10, eventhe most careless or hurried product handlers can easily open and closethe shipping box 20 without damaging the box and without misalignmentcreating a neat appearance.

The underside of the lid flap 21 carries double-sided tape strips 29 aand 29 b (i.e., tape strips with adhesive on both sides). The exposedsides of these tape strips remain covered by protective film until theuser is ready to tape the Shipping box 20 closed, typically for shippingor in-purchase delivery to the end purchaser. At that time, the userremoves the protective film from the tape strips 29 a and 29 b, flipsthe lid 22 over the storage compartment 28, and secures the tape stripsagainst the front panel 27 of the storage compartment. The Shipping box20 may be taped shut with the tab 25 inserted into the slot 26, or not,as desired. Any suitable number, size and position of the double-sidedtape may be utilized as a matter of design choice. For example, a singlewider tape strip taking up most of the area of the underside of the lidflap may be utilized, if desired. As another example, three or fourshorter tape strips transverse to the depicted tape strips 29 a and 29 bmay be utilized, if desired.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the Shipping box 20 with the lid 21 inthe open position showing the interior of the storage compartment 28.FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the Shipping box 20 in the closedposition with the lid 21 secured over the storage compartment 28. FIG. 5shows a single-piece unfolded blank 50, which is folded to create theShipping box 20 identifying the tab 25 and slot 26 features of thisembodiment of the invention. In this particular embodiment, the tab 25has tapered corners forming a generally trapezoidal shape. It will beunderstood, however, that the tab may have any other shape suitable foreasy insertion and removal from a slot through the front panel of theshipping box. For example, FIGS. 6A-6D are conceptual illustrations ofalternative lid flaps forming tabs with different shapes.

It is noted that while the present utility functional aspects of theinvention are shown, the same slit and tab concepts may be practice witha diversity of shapes, sizes, and dimensions without departing from thescope and spirit of the present invention. For example, the front slot26 could be non-linear (in an arc-shape either convex or concave andstill function as intended. Similarly, the lid flap 22 may be providedin an alternative shape (single flap, divided flap, smooth curved sidesvs. angular sides etc. (e.g., as seen in FIGS. 6A-6D or in any othershape or form sufficient to achieve the present function). Similarly,the box may have alternative dimensions (long/small, tall/long,flat/wide etc. so that the functions herein may be achieved by differentshapes.

Although particular embodiments of this disclosure have beenillustrated, it is apparent that various modifications and embodimentsof the disclosure may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. It will thereforebe appreciated that the present invention provides significantimprovements. The foregoing relates only to the exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, and that numerous changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A single-piece cardboard box, comprising: astorage compartment comprising a front panel; a lid connected to thestorage compartment comprising a lid flap defining an underside and atab; double-sided tape attached to the underside of the lid flap; a slotthrough the front panel of the storage compartment for removablyreceiving the tab for repeatedly closing the box without taping the boxclosed; the double-sided tape carrying a protective film allowing thetab to be removably inserted into the slot without adhering the lid flapto the front panel of the storage compartment; and wherein theprotective film is removable from the double-sided tape for taping thelid flap to the front panel of the storage compartment to tape the boxclosed.
 2. A storage box, comprising: a storage compartment comprising afront panel; a lid connected to the storage compartment; an adhesivecarried on the box for adhering the box closed; a removable engagementfor removably attaching the lid to the storage compartment withoututilizing the adhesive to adhere the box closed; a protective filmcarried by the adhesive allowing the removable engagement to repeatedlysecure the lid to the storage compartment without utilizing the adhesiveto adhering the box closed; and wherein the protective film is removablefrom the adhesive for adhering the lid flap to storage compartment tosecure the box closed.
 3. The storage box of claim 2, wherein thestorage compartment and lid are formed from a single piece of materialfoldable from a flat configuration to form the storage compartment andlid.
 4. The storage box of claim 3, wherein the single piece of materialis cardboard.
 5. The storage box of claim 2, wherein the adhesivecomprises double-sided tape.
 6. The storage box of claim 2, wherein: thelid comprises a lid flap; the lid flap defines a tab; the adhesivecomprises double-sided tape carried on an underside of the tab; thestorage compartment comprises a front panel; and the engagementcomprises a slot through the front panel for removably receiving thetab.
 7. The storage box of claim 2, wherein: the lid comprises a lidflap; the storage compartment comprises a front panel; and theengagement comprises a slot through the front panel for removablyreceiving the lid flap.
 8. The storage box of claim 2, wherein: the lidcomprises a lid flap defining a tab; the storage compartment comprises afront panel; and the engagement comprises a slot through the front panelfor removably receiving the tab.
 9. The storage box of claim 2, wherein:the lid comprises a lid flap; and the adhesive comprises double-sidedtape carried on an underside of the lid flap.
 10. The storage box ofclaim 2, wherein the adhesive comprises double-sided tape carried on afront panel of the storage compartment.